Gun mount



Feb. 27, 1945. J. M. COLBY I 2,370,148

GUN MOUNT Filed Jan. 30, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

INVENTOR JOSEPH M.QOLBY EQW FM ATTORNEYS .1. M. COLBY Feb. 27, 1945.

GUN MOUNT Filed Jan. 30 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY JOSEPH M. COLBY CJIZ/VWAM $259M ATTORNEYS J. M. COLBY Feb. 27, 1945.

GUN MOUNT 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 30, 1 945 INVENTOR JOSEPH M. COLBY ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 27, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUN MOUNT- v Joseph M. Colby, Grosse Pointe, Mich. H

Application January 30, 1943, 'Serial No. 474,193

, 5Claims. ((1894-36). a

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 G- 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government, for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to an improvement in a gun mount and more particularly in the provision of means whereby the gun may be elevated or depressed,.the entire gun assembly is statically and dynamically balanced,.and the recoil unit is protected by armor plate and other means as will hereinafter be set forth in detail and recited in theaccompanying.claims...v

. Oneobjectof .thisinvention resides in the provision in a gun mount of means whereby the gun in anarmored structure may be elevated over 60 and depressed over 10 and'ashield by which such.

means are protected.

Another object of; the invention resides in a mount for a gun within a tank or other armored structure which mount is so constructedthat the entire gun assembly is statically and dynamical- 1y balanced. v

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of means whereby the recoil unit of a gun mounted within a tank or other armored structure is protected by armor plate in all positions ofthe gung These and other objects of the invention will be described in detail in the following specification and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein: I

Fig. l is a view in side elevation with parts broken away of a gun within the turret of a tank and supported upon a mount embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in side elevationof the, gun mount with parts broken away.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the shield and elevating or depressing mechanism, the gun and the recoil unit thereof having been removed.

Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation of the gun elevating or depressing mechanism partly in section, and

Fig. 5 is a rear view of the shield by which the longitudinally .upon the cylinder M of the recoil In the wall 25 of the' turret is a window 26 bounded by an. armor plate '21 riveted, welded or secured by. bolts. and nuts. 28 to. thetank wall 25 around the window;26 and having a rectangular central opening 29;through'which the barrel -l5, sleigh and. recoil cylinder, 2| of the gun project. Mounted for rotation within the opening 29 i a .drumlike rotor 30,-the trunnions 3| of which are an arcuate front wall. 35 which extends throughapproximately 270-and sidewalls 36 from which thetrunnions 3|. project. Through a rectangular opening 3l.in the-front wall 35 project the barrel I I5, sleigh 20 and recoilcylinder 2 i.

The barrel, sleigh andcylinder. are enclosed. within a hood 40 which isseatedin the opening 31 and secured in place thereinand to the rotor 30by suitable meanssuch as pins 4| (5% Fig. 3).

The hood 4!) is providedwithfla hole 42, through which the sleigh and barrel extend, and .a hole 43 which receives the barrel of a machine gun (not shown). The front wall of the hood 40 is shaped to provide, below the hole 42, a pocket 44 into which the forward end of the recoil cylinder 2| enters. A hole 45 leading through the front wall of the hood 40 from the pocket 44 is closed by a plug 46 at the end of a threaded pipe 47 which is employed to ensure the desired balance of the gun and its mount as will be pointed out hereinbelow. The recoil cylinder 2| is removably mounted in the pocket 44 in any suitable manner as by bolts or set screws 48' which engage bosses formed on the cylinder and thus secure the gun in the rotor.

The rotor 30 is protected from projectiles by a shield 50 of armor plate welded, riveted or otherwise secured to the hood 40, and a plate 52 mounted rigidly upon the lower wall 53 of the turret H. The lower edge of the shield 50 overlaps the upper edge of the plate 52. Through the front wall of the shield 50 are formed holes 54, 55 and 55 which register with the holes 42, 43 and 45respectively in the hood 40. The shield 50 includes side walls 5'! which enclose the forward-end of the hood and an upwardly extending flange 58 which at all times overlaps the plate 27 and thus guards the rotor against direct blows. A depression 59 in the upper edge of the plate 52 receives the pipe 41 which extends through the hole 56 in the shield 50.

From the above description it will beapparent I that the gun H] and its associated parts are supported solely by the rotor 30 and may be rotated upon the trunnions 3| to elevate or depress the muzzle of the gun. The rotor may be rotated by either manual or automatic means. Only the former means is here shown and Will be described. Fixed to one side wall 36 of the rotor is an arcuate rack plate 60 with which meshes a worm gear Bl mounted upon one end of a shaft 62 provided at its other end with a spiral gear 63. In mesh with the gear 63 is a second spiral gear 64 carried by a shaft 65 at right angles to the shaft 62. The shafts and gearing thus described are rotatably mounted within a suitably formed housing 66 mounted in split bearings 61 carried by a bracket 68 suspended from the underside of the turret Wall 53. A slot 69 in the wall of the housing 65 allows the rack on the plate 60 to mesh with the gear 6|. The housing 66 may be' rotated in the bearings 61 from that position shown in the drawings in which the gear 6| meshes with the rack on the plate 60 to a position in which the gear GI is out of such mesh. A spring locking plunger carried by an arm H projecting from the bracket 68 selectively engages pockets 12 and '13 in the wall of the housing 66 to hold the latter in either of the above positions. Fixed to the outer end of the shaft 65 is a crank wheel by which the mechanism just described is actuated to elevate or depress the gun muzzle when the housing 66 is in the illustrated position.

The gun should be so counterbalanced that the exertion necessary to elevate or depress it does not exceed two pounds. One way of attaining this condition is by filling the pipe 41 with the necessary amount of lead 49 after the gun I!) and machine gun have been mounted, the housing 66 has been rotated so that the gear 51 and rack are out of mesh and nineteen and ahalf pounds have been placed in the ammunition box; If the hood 40 and shield 50 are so constructed that the gun, under the conditions outlined above, is muzzle heavy the pipe 41 will its front wall, a hood secured in said opening, a

gun passed through said hood, a recoil cylinder for said gun carried by said hood, a shield secured to said hood and covering the front end of said hood and the front wall of said rotor,

and means for actuating said rotor.

z. The combination as set forth in claim wherein said hood has an opening arranged to receive the barrel of a machine gun.

3. In the turret of a combat vehicle having an open port, in combination, a rotor disposed in said port having an opening in its front wall, a

hood secured in said opening having an aperture arranged to receive the barrel of a gun, a recoil cylinder for a gun carried by said hood, a shield secured to said hood and covering the front end of said hood and the front wall of said rotor, and means for actuating said rotor.

4. A combination as set forth in claim 3, wherein upper and lower marginal shields are disposed adjacent the upper and lower edges of said shield, said shield attached to said hood overlapping said marginal shields.

5. In combination, a rotor having an opening in its front wall, a turret having an opening in which said rotor is disposed, a hood in said rotor opening, a gun barrel passing through said hood, a recoil cylinder for said gun barrel carried by said hood, stationary marginal shields disposed on said turret adjacent the upper and lower marginal edges of the opening therein, a movable shield secured to said hood overlapping said stationary shields, said movable shield covering the front end of said hood and the front wall of said rotor, and means for actuating said rotor.

JOSEPH M. COLBY. 

